Local By-Laws

 

ARTICLE 1: AUTHORITY

These ASF Bylaws set forth the procedural functioning of this organization. Policies, rules, and decisions set forth in this document shall take precedence over all committee Bylaws. The SMSU ASF Constitution shall take precedence over these Bylaws.

ARTICLE 2: OPERATING PROCEDURES

SMSU ASF, its executive board, and all Association committees shall function in accordance with parliamentary procedure of the special rules for small boards as set the fourth in the most recent version of Robert’s Rules of Order, unless otherwise provided for in the SMSU ASF Constitution or By-Laws.

ARTICLE 3: DUTIES OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD

(A) Shall discuss matters of policy and establish ASF related priorities for general members
(B) Shall make recommendations to the general members
(C) Shall act as the coordinating body of the SMSU ASF
(D) Shall represent the needs of ASF members to the SMSU administration
(E) Shall be the voice for SMSU ASF in times requested

ARTICLE 4: DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS

4.01 DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT:

(A) Shall preside at all meetings
(B) Shall be responsible for conducting the affairs of this Association during the term of their office
(C) Shall be the local association representative to the ASF State Board or appoint a designee/proxy
(D) Shall attend all meetings of the ASF State Board or send an alternate representative for SMSU ASF(E) Shall provide reports of State Board meetings at regular meetings of the Association
(F) Shall perform other duties specified in the State ASF Constitution and Bylaws
(G) Shall chair the Executive Board and the Meet and Confer Committee
(H) Shall meet with the President of SMSU to consult and advocate for ASF and its members including, but not limited to, pre-meet and confers
(I) Shall appoint members, after consultation with the executive board, to campus standing committees, task forces, campus hiring committees, and other avenues of AASF ASF representation

4.02 DUTIES OF THE FIRST VICE PRESIDENT:

(A) Shall assume the duties of the President in the event of the absence of the President or in the
case of the President’s inability to fulfill their responsibilities
(B) Shall coordinate Association committees
(C) Shall seek members for appointment by the President, after consultation with the executive
board, to campus standing committees, task forces, campus hiring committees, and other avenues
of ASF representation
(D) Shall keep the Executive Board informed of Association committees, campus committee
memberships, and the campus committee reports
(E) Shall chair the Constitutional Review Committee

4.03 DUTIES OF THE SECOND VICE PRESIDENT:

(A) Shall assume the duties of the First Vice President in the case of the First Vice President’s
inability to fulfill their responsibilities.
(B) Shall chair the Professional Improvement Committee
(C) Shall coordinate Association membership development activities
(D) Shall be responsible for coordinating the contractual Professional Development Funds for the
unit in conjunction with administration

4.04 DUTIES OF THE TREASURER:

(A) Shall be responsible for the collection, keeping and disbursement of all monies of the
Association(B) Shall provide budgetary reports at each regular meeting of the Association
(C) Shall coordinate food and beverage for designated Association meetings
(D) Shall keep the official membership list for the Association
(E) Shall provide the State ASF Treasurer with updated membership information once per year
in order to facilitate campus maintenance and support payments
(F) Shall organize and carry out all other budgetary matters of the Campus Association
(G) Shall chair the Membership committee

4.05 DUTIES OF THE CORRESPONDING SECRETARY:

(A) Shall provide notification and agendas to all members of any and all General Membership
and Meet and Confer meetings of the Association
(B) Shall co-chair the Elections, Nominations and Ballot Committee
(C) Shall, in the absence of the Recording Secretary, ensure that an accurate official and
permanent record of all meetings are kept
(D) Shall coordinate and maintain the ASF’s communication venues including, but not limited
to: required bulletin board(s), ASF webpage presence on the SMSU website, and assist the
president with planning meeting logistics

4.06 DUTIES OF THE RECORDING SECRETARY:

(A) Shall keep a record of the proceedings of the General Membership meetings for maintenance
of the official and permanent Association record
(B) Shall keep a record of the proceedings of the Executive Board meetings for maintenance of
the official and permanent Association record
(C) Shall keep a record of the proceedings of Meet and Confer meetings for maintenance of the
official and permanent Association record
(D) Shall co-chair the Elections, Nominations and Ballot Committee
(E) Shall maintain summaries of all business conducted at any ASF meetings for archiving in
official historical records of business

4.07 DUTIES OF THE IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT:

(A) Shall serve as an Association representative regarding issues in the benchmarking of
positions by the Campus Evaluation Committee (CEC)
(B) Shall serve as a resource for the current President and the Executive Board

4.08 DUTIES OF THE LEAD GRIEVANCE OFFICER AND ASSOCIATE GRIEVANCE OFFICERS:

(A) Shall be responsible for contract language workshops
(B) Shall be responsible for processing grievances
(C) Shall be responsible for advising members on contract language issues and on the grievance
process
(D) Lead Grievance officer shall oversee the above duties and coordinate delivery of service to
members by all grievance officers

4.09 DUTIES OF THE LEGISLATIVE LIAISON:

(A) Shall serve as the Unit representative at state level ASF Legislative Committee
(B) Shall provide the Unit with periodical updates concerning the status of the State ASF
Legislative Committee business and all relevant state and federal Higher Education information

4.10 DUTIES OF CAMPUS CONTRACT NEGOTIATORS:

(A) Shall serve as the Unit representative at state negotiation meetings
(B) The Executive Board shall also appoint an alternate Campus Negotiator
(C) Shall provide the Unit with periodical updates concerning the status of state level contract
negotiations
(D) If Campus Negotiator and Alternate Campus Negotiator are unable to attend negotiation
meetings an alternate will be appointed by the Executive Board

ARTICLE FIVE: DUTIES OF COMMITTEES

5.01 MEET AND CONFER:

(A) Shall consist of the Association Executive Board
(B) Shall meet and confer with the University President or their designee(s), including members of the President’s Cabinet, for the purpose of discussion of local issues of mutual concern or interest(C) Shall be chaired by the Association President or designee
(D) The President shall serve as the coordinated voice of the unit during Meet and Confer meetings
(E) Shall be held at the request of either party and shall be governed by the current Master Agreement then in force
(F) Shall be open to all dues paying members and all members are encouraged to attend Meet and Confer meetings
(G) All dues paying members are allowed to participate in open, solicited discussions during a Meet and Confer meeting. If an issue is being presented at Meet and Confer that is not open for discussion or responses are not solicited from members present, members have the right to call for an immediate caucus in order to present their thoughts regarding the issue

5.02 ELECTIONS, NOMINATIONS, AND BALLOT COMMITTEE:

(A) Shall be constituted as soon as possible after yearly elections so that it may oversee any requests for secret ballot procedures from members
(B) Shall be comprised of co-chairs and at least two other dues paying members appointed by the Association Executive Board
(C) Shall be co-chaired by the Corresponding Secretary and the Recording Secretary
(D) No dues paying member who is a candidate for office can serve on the Elections, Nominations, and Ballot Committee at the time of said election
(E) Shall be responsible for conducting all candidate recruitment and balloting, following specified procedures for any and all vacancies except where outlined within the SMSU ASF Constitution and Bylaws
(F) Shall publicize the results of any and all elections to the general membership in good standing
(G) Shall conduct secret ballots when voted to do so during general membership meetings in accordance with procedures outlined in Article 6.07 of the SMSU ASF Bylaws

5.03 MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE:

(A) Shall be chaired by the Association Treasurer
(B) Shall be comprised of the chair and at least two other members as appointed by the
Association Executive Board(C) A member of the Membership Committee shall represent the local Association on the State
Membership Committee
(D) Shall be responsible for providing information to all prospective Association members
(E) Shall coordinate the recruitment and enrollment process of all new Association members
(F) Shall serve as the advisory and coordinating committee for membership development
activities such as membership apparel, end of the year meetings/celebrations, kick off events, etc.

5.04 PROFESSIONAL IMPROVEMENT FUND (PIF) COMMITTEE:

(A) Shall be chaired by the Second Vice President
(B) Shall be comprised of the chair and at least three other dues paying members
(C) Shall meet quarterly to review and recommend applications, as per university policy, to conduct the process of recommendations to the SMSU President of awarding quarterly PIF grants to eligible ASF members for professional improvement activities and funding

5.05 CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW COMMITTEE:

(A) Shall be the First Vice President
(B) Shall be comprised of the chair and at least two other dues paying members in good standing
appointed by the Association Executive Board
(C) Shall be responsible for reviewing all amendments to the ASF Constitution and Bylaws as
they are brought forth by the membership

5.06 OTHER COMMITTEES:

(A) Shall be formed as deemed necessary or appropriate by the Association
(B) Shall have members appointed by the Association Executive Board
ARTICLE SIX: ELECTIONS AND BALLOTING PROCEDURES

6.01 ELECTION PROCEDURES:

(A) Shall be conducted in accordance with the policies and procedures set forth within the
SMSU ASF Constitution and Bylaws
(B) Shall be conducted by the Elections, Nominations, and Ballot Committee6.02 CANDIDATES:
(A) The Elections, Nominations, and Ballot Committee shall make a conscientious effort to
recruit at least two (2) candidates from dues paying members for any and all SMSU ASF officer
positions whenever vacancies occur
(B) If there is only one candidate for any vacant officer position, the membership shall have a
space provided and clearly marked for members to vote for write-in candidates
(C) If there is only one candidate for any vacant officer position, the membership shall be
afforded the opportunity to cast a vote of no-confidence

6.03 VOTING PROCEDURES:

(A) All voting shall be conducted via secret ballot
(B) All voting and elections for officer vacancies shall be initiated by May 31st of each year
(C) Voting and elections shall be conducted via paper ballots mailed to all dues paying members either at their SMSU office or their home address
(D) No sticker ballots shall be allowed
(E) All dues paying members shall be given at least one (1) week, and no more than three (3) weeks, to review their ballot and mail it back to the chair of the Elections, Nominations, and Ballot Committee
(F) All ballots must be received no later than 4:30pm on the due date published by the Elections, Nominations, and Ballots committee in order to qualify to be counted

6.04 BALLOTS AND BALLOT COUNTING:

(A) No ballots will be allowed to be in the possession of anyone, at any time, other than members of the Elections, Ballots, and Nominations committee
(B) Ballot counting and certification for Officer Elections and Constitutional amendments shall be conducted by the Elections, Nominations, and Ballot committee
(C) All ballot counting shall be conducted in a forum open to all dues paying members of ASF
(D) The location and time of the ballot counting shall be publicized to all dues paying members with the initial ballots
(E) The Elections, Nominations, and Ballot committee shall certify all elections by providing a report of all counting ballots, a tally of said ballots by each vacancy, and each committee member’s signature certifying said counts(F) All questionable ballots shall be reviewed and shall be ruled allowable or disqualified by a simple majority of the Elections, Nominations, and Ballot Committee members present at the time of ballot counting
(H) All positions are elected by receiving the numerically greatest number of ballots cast by dues paying members
(I) In case of a tie for any position, the ASF Executive Board shall be charged with the process of breaking the tie and filling the contested position
(J) All ballots will be kept on file for thirty (30) days by the Elections, Nominations, and Ballot Committee and be accessible to members. After thirty (30) days, the ballots will be destroyed
(K) If a written request to review ballots is received from a dues paying member, the ballots will be made available in a public forum, with two members of the Elections, Nominations, and Ballot committee present

6.05 CAMPAIGN RULES FOR CANDIDATES:

(A) All candidates shall adhere to the rules and regulations set forth within the SMSU ASF Constitution, Bylaws, and other operating documents of the Elections, Nominations, and Ballot Committee, and the general polices of the SMSU ASF and the University at large
(B) Candidates must obey all posting policies of the University when posting campaign literature
(C) Candidates may not deface or destroy other candidate’s campaign materials
(D) Candidates may use the official SMSU ASF Bulletin board if the Executive Board approves that there is sufficient space for all candidates to post
(E) No personal use of the ASF electronic listserv may be used by individual candidates for campaign purposes
(F) The Executive board may choose to utilize the ASF electronic listserv to publicize official candidate statements and materials provided that all candidates are given the opportunity to include materials if they so choose
(G) No University general or revenue fund money shall be used to campaign

6.06 DISQUALIFICATIONS AND APPEALS:

(A) Candidates shall be disqualified for any violation of campaign rules(B) The Elections, Nominations, and Ballot Committee shall hear all cases of candidate election violations
(C) The Elections, Nominations, and Ballot Committee shall render a decision on whether or not to disqualify candidates by a simple majority vote
(D) The Elections, Nominations, and Ballot Committee’s decision is final

6.07 SECRET BALLOT PROCEDURES DURING MEETINGS

When the general membership approves a request to hold a secret ballot vote during a general membership meeting, the members of the Elections, Nominations, and Ballot committee shall be charged with conducting the secret ballot in the following manner:

(A) Each dues paying member presents at the general membership meeting shall be accorded the opportunity to vote by a standardized secret ballot form for or against the motion before the membership
(B) All abstentions shall be counted as non-votes. These votes shall not be counted for the majority or the minority
(C) The committee shall collect all ballots and count the ballots outside the general memberships’ presence
(D) The committee shall read the final vote tally to the general membership, and the results shall be entered into the official minutes of the meeting
(E) The ballots shall be destroyed at the end of the general membership meeting in which the ballots were cast

ARTICLE SEVEN: GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES

All grievances shall be governed by the policies and procedures set forth in the most recent MSUAASF Master Agreement between the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees and the Minnesota State University Association of Administrative and Service Faculty.

7.01 REPRESENTATION:

Unit members filing grievances shall be represented by one of the Grievance Officers, or at the unit member’s request, another member of the committee Unit, or the State Grievance Officer.ARTICLE 8: ADOPTION AND

AMENDMENTS

8.01: ADOPTION OF THESE BYLAWS:

These Bylaws shall be in effect upon their approval by a two-thirds majority of dues paying members in attendance at a regularly scheduled meeting or through normal election procedures.

8.02: AMENDMENTS TO THESE BYLAWS:

These Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds majority vote of the dues paying members cast at a regularly scheduled meeting. Such amendments shall have been presented in writing to all dues paying members of the SMSU ASF at least one week prior to the regularly scheduled general membership meeting..